The web’s top 10

This Issue This is a part of the Technology feature

By - , Build 137

It’s very easy to fall into the habit of revisiting your favourite websites and only straying further when you need a specific product or service. It’s time to see what you may be missing.

HERE’S OUR TOP 10 web resources for builders and designers. Even if you’re a regular visitor to these sites, further exploration may expose treasure buried beneath their home pages in the form of links to sites you haven’t heard about. Consider these as jumping-off points for more extensive browsing.

1 BRANZ and Build archive

Looking for an old Build article or practical building advice? Try Build online (www.buildmagazine.co.nz). Build articles published over the last 10 years are free to download. A major upgrade enhancing searchability is due shortly.

The BRANZ website (www.branz.co.nz) is also a rich information resource, with results of building research, current Appraisals, digital tools such as BRANZ Maps, details of seminars and publications, and links to other BRANZ websites such as Level, Renovate and WAVE.

2 Building Code

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has free downloads of all the latest Building Code compliance documents online (www.dbh.govt.nz/compliance-documents) as well as guidance documents and legislation stuff.

3 New Zealand standards

For the latest standards, go to Standards New Zealand (www.standards.co.nz). You can check online if you have the current version of a standard or purchase copies of all the current or cited New Zealand standards.

4 Unit conversion

Onlineconversion (www.onlineconversion.com) lets you convert just about anything to anything else – that means over 5,000 units and 50,000 conversions, from metric to imperial and back: areas, angles, volumes, flow rates, energy, objects and shapes. There’s even an html colour picker that provides the html code for various colours, and architects may find the shape area converter (www.onlineconversion.com/shape_area.htm) useful.

5 Weathertightness

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s weathertightness guidance resources (www.dbh.govt.nz/info-for-building-professionals-resources) provide guidelines on dealing with timber in leaky buildings, remediation design, diagnosis of leaky buildings and weathertightness design principles. There’s also a weathertightness risk matrix and a guide to understanding and applying risk principles, including a series of fully worked examples.

6 Jobs

If you want to look further than www.seek.co.nz and www.trademe.co.nz/jobs, then try New Zealand Immigration’s New Zealand Now website (www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/working-in-nz/great-career-opportunites/construction), which has practical information on jobs in construction and the skills shortage list. Aimed chiefly at migrant workers, the site is nevertheless a starting point for those seeking work or skills.

Manpower’s Rebuild Our City (www.manpower.co.nz/rebuildourcity/) targets the Christchurch rebuild. It’s divided into trades such as carpenters, electricians and painters, construction (including quantity surveyors, site managers and contracts managers) and engineering (including geotechnical engineers, surveyors and architects/designers).

7 Jobs to price

The NZ Tenders Gazette (www.tenders-gazette.co.nz/) allows users to enter tender details and lodge a tender for free and, while most areas of the site require registration, guest users can view closed tenders.

8 Apprentices

The Building and Construction Industry ITO website (www.bcito.org.nz) has details for apprentices, employers and providers, as well as links for businesses seeking apprentices.

9 Safety

Sitesafe (www.sitesafe.co.nz) has handy information on tool safety, best practice and industry connections. The site also includes valuable tips on creating a site-specific safety plan with task analysis, and it offers downloads of PDF and Microsoft Word templates you can use in your business.

10 Specifications

Masterspec (www.masterspec.co.nz) and Productspec (www.productspec.net) offer specifications systems. They’re designed to provide specification resources that can be modified to suit standard, engineering, services, landscapes, basic, interiors and minor residential uses. Under the Industry Resources tab on Masterspec you’ll find the Construction Industry Council Design documentation guidelines.

And more…

Bubbling under the Top 10 is Selector (www.selector.com.nz), which targets professional specifiers and end-users. It allows you to find architecture, building, design and landscape products – from adhesives and sealants to structural elements, thermal insulation, sewerage systems and waterproofing materials.

The University of Auckland has a convenient Architecture Archive (www.architecture-archive.auckland.ac.nz) where you can search by architect, practice and collection. Drawings, plans, elevations and photographs from the university’s collection can also be searched.

Or try www.christchurchmodern.co.nz to see some interesting modern houses in Christchurch and beyond.

Work out your top 10

There are numerous other industry resources online, and there’s really no telling which bookmarks you’ll visit daily and which you’ll forget. The best way to establish your own Top 10 is to try these and other sites and see which you instinctively return to.

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Articles are correct at the time of publication but may have since become outdated.

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